The post, written by an old friend, was a candid and introspective review of all aspects of his life, almost like a personal performance review. After reading it, I'd give him a raise, for sure.
My life isn't bad by any means- hey, like the man once said, I've got a daytime job, I'm doin' alright". But there's a lot that I could be doing that I'm not while conversely there are things that I do that I shouldn't.
I've transcended what I called fat buff into just kinda fat. I was doing really well until July when I hurt my foot and September when I jacked up my shoulder and exercise basically fell off. I'm not pain adverse, but my mindset of allowing myself time to heal morphed into just hanging out.
I like cooking, and I like eating what I cook. I eat out a lot as well. Vegetables usually aren't on the menu, and I'm usually not one to turn down a chance to make a cream sauce.
I like beer. A lot. Pair this with a damn high tolerance and I can and do toss them back.
I'm not a religious person, but I do feel that I've become less spiritual over time; out of touch with the fabric of life.
I've allowed myself to become a bit undisciplined. Arguably, I needed to in some respects, but I need some more rigor.
While my friend would get a raise after his performance review, I'd be lucky not to get terminated after mine.
I took the time to think about all of this, and I came up with a plan. For some reason, 28 days stuck in my head as a good target. I'm unclear why, but the Google revealed to me that 28 days is the typical duration of rehabilitation and further that the number 28 in Hebrew signifies both Power and Energy. This all felt rather apropos, so on a Sunday evening I sat down and wrote out my list:
 |
| Don't worry, I'll write it out for you! |
- I will workout on the elliptical cycle for at least 15 minutes. My wife bought a $1500 elliptical on clearance for like $300. It needs to be used.
- I will do at least 10 push-ups. 10 isn't much, I get it. I'm trying to be sensitive to my shoulder.
- I will walk at least 5,000 steps. I get it, 10k is the real benchmark. Starting out with realistic goals.
It is not easy to get 10k steps in when you drive a desk all day.
- I will eat at least one vegetable. Ideally, it won't be lettuce.
- I will drink no more than two beers a day. I will allow myself one cheat day.
- I will floss every day. This is more about discipline than anything I guess. Plus my wife bought a really nice water pick that she didn't use so I stole that sucker.
- I will make the bed every day. Again, about discipline. Also, I love crawling in to a made bed.
- I will meditate/breath deeply for five minutes. Centering myself, getting back in touch.
- I will not take my phone out after dinner unless it rings. To me, this is about getting back into the now, the present, seeing what is in front of me. It also arguably felt like it was the most daunting.
- I will stretch for five minutes every day. Maybe eventually I will be able to do a knee bend that goes above my waist again.
- I won't yell at Rusty unless he rubs his tooth against me or does a four paw testicle smash. Rusty is a 16 year old tom cat that thinks I am his best friend in the world. He's got a number of annoying habits, including caterwauling in the middle of meetings and in the middle of the night. He's old, and he adores me. I need to be nicer to him.
- I will drink two big bottles of water every day. This is a big bottle:
- I will fix/finish something. I can't count the number of little things there are in my life that I need to just take care of. But I don't cause it isn't anything really material or pressing. These little things can really weigh you down.
Every evening before bedtime, I'm taking a few minutes to jot down notes about the day- nothing Shakespearean; just enough to give me a flavor for the day- what I did, what I didn't do, what worked, what didn't.
I am writing this post on Day 8 of the 28 Days. My subsequent posts will give a day by day breakdown of the 28 days in 7 day increments. I'm looking forward to sharing this journey in an honest and humorous manner for those that choose to accompany me.
What will happen at the end of the 28 days? I've no idea. But I can't imagine it to be anything other than an improvement.
You can read about the first seven days here
No comments:
Post a Comment